West Nile virus warning issued for Bastrop County

Bastrop County health officials are urging residents to take precautions after the area's first confirmed case of the West Nile virus this year. 

The case was reported last month in a resident of Brazos County, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The patient was diagnosed with West Nile fever, a mosquito-borne illness that can lead to serious neurological complications — including two local cases last year and the 2016 death of a 13-year-old Bastrop County resident. 

“(Residents) should be aware that mosquitoes transmit disease, and some of these illnesses, like West Nile and dengue, can be severe,” said Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Department of State Health Services.